The Malagasy or striped civet (''Fossa fossana''), also known as the fanaloka (Malagasy, ) or jabady, is an

euplerid Eupleridae is a family of carnivorans endemic to Madagascar and comprising 10 known living species in seven genera, commonly known as euplerids, Malagasy mongooses or Malagasy carnivorans. The best known species is the fossa (''Cryptoproct ...

endemic to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. It is the only species in genus ''Fossa''. The Malagasy civet is a small mammal, about long excluding the tail (which is only about ). It can weigh . It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the tropical forests of Madagascar. Malagasy civets are nocturnal. It eats small vertebrates,

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s, aquatic animals, and eggs stolen from

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s' nests. The

mating season Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and ch ...

of the Malagasy civet is August to September and the gestation period is three months, ending with the birth of one young. The Malagasy civet is listed as Vulnerable by

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

(IUCN). The Malagasy name ''fanaloka'' is related to the Malay word ''pelanduk'' " mousedeer" (via metathesis) likely due to their similar sizes and silhouette.

Classification

The Malagasy civet was to be placed in the subfamily

Hemigalinae The Hemigalinae are a subfamily of the viverrids denominated and first described by John Edward Gray in 1864. Hemigalinae species are native to Southeast Asia from southern China through Indochina, Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi ...

with the banded palm civets and then in its own subfamily, Fossinae, because of similarities with others in the group pointed out by Gregory, but it is now classified as a member of the subfamily Euplerinae, after Pocock pointed out more similarities with that one.

Description

The Malagasy civet is a small mammal, about long excluding the tail (which is only about ). The males can weigh up to , and the females can weigh up to . It is the second largest carnivore in Madagascar after the fossa. it may be confused with the

small Indian civet The small Indian civet (''Viverricula indica'') is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agr ...

(''Viverricula indica''). It has a short coat greyish beige or brown in colour, with dark black horizontal stripes running from head to tail, where the stripes are vertical, wrapping around the bushier tail. The stripes morph into spots near the belly. Its legs are short and very thin.

Behavior

The Malagasy civet is nocturnal, though sources disagree over whether it is solitary or, unusual among euplerids, lives in pairs. It is not a good climber and frequents ravines. It eats small vertebrates (mammals, reptiles, and amphibians), insects, aquatic animals, and eggs stolen from birds' nests. It is shy and secretive. Their vocalizations are similar to crying and groaning, as well as a sound similar to ''coq-coq''. Pairs of males and females defend a large area (around ) as their territory. In the winter, it may store fat in its tail, which can make up 25% of their weight. The

of the Malagasy civet is August to September and the gestation period is around three months, ending with the birth of one young. The young are rather well-developed, weigh around , and are weaned in two to three months, leaving their parents at around one year old. The average lifespan of a Malagasy civet is about 21 years in captivity.

Distribution and habitat

The Malagasy civet is found in lowland and rainforest areas of Eastern and Northern areas of

, and can also be found in humid and isolated forests in

Amber Mountain National Park Montagne d'Ambre National Park is a national park in the Diana Region of northern Madagascar. The park is known for its endemic flora and fauna, water falls and crater lakes. It is north of the capital, Antananarivo and is one of the most biolog ...

, and farther north in the less-humid forests of

Ankarana Reserve Ankarana Special Reserve in northern Madagascar was created in 1956. It is a small, partially vegetated plateau composed of 150-million-year-old middle Jurassic limestone. With an average annual rainfall of about , the underlying rocks have been e ...

. It can be found from sea level to above sea level, but is only common up to above sea level.

Conservation status

The Malagasy civet is listed as Vulnerable by

(IUCN), with a decreasing population. Though threatened by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

, hunting, charcoal production, logging, and competition from

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

such as

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

s, and

s, it is locally common. Introduced animals such as dogs are likely to prey on Malagasy civets. Its range is now reduced to isolated patches.

References

Sources

*Macdonald, David (ed). ''The Encyclopedia of Mammals''. ( New York, 1984) *Anderson, Simon (ed). ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals''. (

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, 1982)

External links

*ARKive
images and movies of the striped civet ''(Fossa fossana)''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q525088 Carnivorans of Africa Endemic fauna of Madagascar Euplerids Mammals of Madagascar Mammals described in 1776 Taxa named by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller